Battle Droid

Rather than use flesh-and-blood warriors, the Separatists prefer mindlessly loyal soldiers that are easily controlled. The soulless ranks of their armies are dominated by tall, thin B1 battle droids built as mechanical imitations of their Geonosian designers. Battle droids can be controlled by centralized command centers such as the Trade Federation’s enormous Droid Control Ships, or programmed for independent action. They often suffer programming glitches that manifest as personality quirks. Battle droids are dim-witted and no match for clone troopers or Jedi, but they weren’t designed to be smart – they were designed to overwhelm Republic civilians through sheer numbers, something they do very effectively.

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HISTORY //

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC

An early use of battle droids came during the invasion of Naboo, as the Trade Federation sent armies of B1s to seize the peaceful planet’s cities. Badly outnumbered, the Naboo surrendered and were taken to internment camps by the droid hordes.

A decade later, many other worlds would share Naboo’s fate. A single clone trooper could destroy many battle droids, but there were many more Separatist droids than Republic troops. It would take years of grinding battle for the Republic to defeat the Separatists, and that victory would prove hollow. The Clone Wars were part of a Sith plot to gain power over a militarized galactic civilization, with battle droids mere pawns in that plan.

RELATED //

General Grievous was a brilliant Separatist military strategist and a feared Jedi hunter, known for his ruthlessness and hacking cough. His body itself was a weapon, allowing him lightning quick strikes and devastating blows. But he was also quick to run from a fight, a tactic that worked until one final meeting with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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Poggle the Lesser was the leader of the insect-like Geonosians throughout the era of the Clone Wars. Due to his control of the Geonosian battle droid factories, he was a powerful figure within the Confederacy of Independent Systems and commanded the droid armies that fought against the Republic in two battles for control of Geonosis. At the end of the war, Poggle lost his life to Darth Vader.

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In the final days of the Republic, the galactic government had grown so huge and corrupt that any attempt at change required radical thinking and extreme actions. Outlying systems that saw no benefit from being part of the Republic despite paying heavy taxes, began to rebel. This undercurrent of disgust towards Coruscant was seized by a charismatic leader, Count Dooku. The former Jedi rallied together these worlds in a Separatist movement that saw the departure of thousands of systems from the Republic. When Dooku's alliance was secretly backed by corporate titans that offered their unlimited droid armies to the cause, the Separatists emerged as a major threat to the Republic, and the galaxy tipped towards full scale war.

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A harsh rocky world less than a parsec away from Tatooine, Geonosis is a ringed planet beyond the borders of the Galactic Republic. Its uninviting surface is made up of harsh, rocky desert, and the creatures that evolved on Geonosis are well equipped to survive in the brutal environment. The most advanced lifeform are the Geonosians, sentient insectoids that inhabit towering spire-hives. The Geonosians maintain large factories for the production of droids and weapons for the Separatist cause in the Clone Wars.

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At the time of their introduction, the Republic clone troopers represented the future of galactic warfare. Far superior to battle droids, the clone troopers formed the backbone of the Republic's new military that waged war against the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. So symbolic were they of the times, the galaxy-wide conflict that saw their debut took its name from their ranks: the Clone Wars.

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Neimoidians are known for their business skills, but Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation, was more cutthroat than most. It was Gunray who conspired with the Sith Lord Darth Sidious to launch the blockade and subsequent invasion of Naboo. Once the planet was under siege, Gunray attempted to force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty that would legitimize the occupation. Amidala escaped, and returned to infiltrate her own palace and blast through Gunray's protectors. Arrested by Republic officials, Gunray was carted off to answer for his crimes, but evaded imprisonment and kept his post.